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You are here: NPIC Home Page Pesticide Regulations Federal Pesticide Regulation EPA Pesticide Regulation Regulating Organic Food Production

Regulating Organic Food Production

Organic foods are produced by farmers that do not use many of the conventional synthetic pesticides, rather they use only specific pesticides defined by the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP). Organic food production under the NOP is defined by the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) of 1990. In addition to regulating the pesticides and other chemicals that can be used in organic food production, the NOP also regulates the harvest and handling of those foods as well as the organic claims on the product labels.

If you have questions about this, or any pesticide-related topic, please call NPIC at 1-800-858-7378 (8:00am - 12:00pm PST), or email at npic@ace.orst.edu.

Additional Resources:

• What is organic? FAQs - Oregon Tilth
• Organic Regulations - US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• Organic Labeling - US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances - US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) of 1990 - US Department of Ag (USDA)
• National Organic Program - US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• The Certification Process - Oregon Tilth
• OMRI Certified Product List - Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI)
• Labeling Organic Products - US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• Labeling Packaged Products under the National Organic Standards - US Department of Ag (USDA)
• Organic Certification - US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• Labeling of Pesticide Products under the National Organic Program - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• 2008 Organic Production Survey - US Department of Ag (USDA), National Agricultural Statistics Service
• eOrganic - eXtension Resource Area for Organic Agriculture - eOrganic

Related Topics:

What are pests?

What are pesticides?

Please read our disclaimer | Contact us | About NPIC | En español

NPIC provides objective, science-based information about pesticides and pesticide-related topics to enable people to make informed decisions. NPIC is a cooperative agreement between Oregon State University and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (cooperative agreement #X8-83560101). The information in this publication does not in any way replace or supersede the restrictions, precautions, directions, or other information on the pesticide label or any other regulatory requirements, nor does it necessarily reflect the position of the U.S. EPA.